Regulations needed to keep developmentally disabled safe

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I recently shared the story of Jose, the kind shop owner who helped my son Matthew complete a transaction simply by being patient and understanding. I feel that it is important to share the uplifting stories of ways in which the community embraces individuals with developmental disabilities.

Sadly, on the same day I published my story, a dramatically different one came to light that emphasizes the need for regulations to keep the developmentally disabled safe.

A severely autistic 16-year-old girl found badly beaten this past Thursday night in San Francisco, two days after she left an Oakland group home.

Police would not comment on whether the girl had been sexually assaulted.

The teen was spotted by a Muni bus driver in San Francisco about 8 p.m. Thursday, police said. The driver wasn’t aware she was missing but said she was the only one on the bus, and he called police because he was concerned about her.

The teen walked off about 7 p.m. Tuesday from the Fred Finch Youth Center at 3800 Coolidge Ave. in East Oakland.

The teen’s mother, Shandra Pullar, said the home did not notify her or any family members until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“This experience is horrifyingly similar to what happened to my 24-year-old developmentally-delayed daughter ,” said Denise Lester of Walnut Creek. She went to pick up her 24-year old daughter Caitlin at Concord House, an adult residential facility, the evening of July 15, but learned she was missing. It had been three hours since the developmentally-disabled woman and two others were supposed to return from a walk to Starbucks a few blocks away. After police were called, Caitlin was found by a Good Samaritan in Walnut Creek, seven miles away from the home, lost but alive.

According to the report last July in the San Jose Mercury News, these are two of many cases that spotlight a gap in residential adult care facility regulations. While facility staff are required to contact the state right away when someone leaves and may be in danger, there is no mandate for them to call police.

Denise Lester has been leading the charge to make sure that the developmentally disabled and mentally impaired adults get the protection they need, and has sought help from state Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo. The lawmaker’s office is researching a bill that would require care home facilities to contact authorities, including police, immediately after a resident is discovered missing or has failed to return at a scheduled time.